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J. CLERET. MAGHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF- PEARL BUTTONS.

No. 450,095. Patented Apr. 7, 1.891.

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MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PEARL BUTTONS. No. 450,095.. Patented'Apr. 7, 1891.

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. JQOLERET." MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PEARL BUTTONS. No.450,095.-- Patented Apr. 7,1891.

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P J. OLERET. .MAOHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURED]? PEARL BUTTONS.

No. 450,095. Patented Apr. 7, 1891.

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. UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIQE JULES cLEEET, on BEAUVAIS, FRANCE.

MACHINE FORTHE MANUFACTURE OF PEARL BUTTONS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 450,095, dated April 7,1891.

' Application filed October 29,1890- Serial No.369,'710. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, J ULES OLERET, of Bean'- vais, in the Republic ofFrance, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for theManufacture of Pearl Buttons, which improvement is fully set forth inthe following specification.

The present invention has reference to the manufacture of pearl buttons;and its object, generally stated, is to produce these articles bymachinery in quantities, uniform in size and appearance, with the leastpossible waste of the raw material, at greatly-reduced cost, and withoutthe assistance of skilled workmen.

The present invention more particularly relates to machinery f orshaping from the blanks buttons which may be flat, convex, or partlyconvex on their faces, or of other si1nilar shapes in which pearlbuttons are ordinarily found upon the market, or which may be ofmushroom form, as those sold for collar and cuff buttons.

The machinecomprises two frames or carriages mounted on the same bed orbench. One of these frames or carriages supports an emery-wheel or wheelof other suitable abrading or grinding substance and having in intaglt'oor in ril'ievo the counterpart of the form to be given. Upon the otherframe is mounted chuck mechanism of suitable construction to grasp andhold the blank and present it to the action of the grinding-wheel. Thischuck is combined with automatic devices for opening and closing thechuck-jaws to seize or release the button and with automatic regulatingmechanism to limit the forward motion of the frame or carriagetl1atis,its motion toward the grinding-wheel.

In' the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification,Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, of a machineconstructed in accordance with the invention; Fig.2, a planview of thesame; Fig. 3, a simi lar view of the frame carrying the emerywheel asdesigned for the manufacture of collar-buttons, and Fig. 4 is across-section through the point of lever l.

The arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is that designed for use inmaking ordinary buttons having a flat or slightly-rounded surface. Inthis case the frame a, which carries the grinding-wheel b, isstationary. This grinding-wheel is out upon the face near the edge, theprofile corresponding with the shape to be given to the button. Frame orcarriage c is movable by means of lever d toward and away from the wheelI). In the latter movement the chuck-jaws it, which hold thebutton-blank open automatically, as hereinafter described, permit thebutton to drop. The jaws 7c are formed on the end of a rod j, which isloosely surrounded by the tube or sleeve f. The latter is journaled inbearings in the frame 0 and carries the fast and loose pulleys g g. Atits forward end the tube'f has a spherical head It, hollowed out in theform of a cone. At its other end it is closed by a stopper 2'. The outersurface of jaws k is shaped to correspond with the bore of head h, sothat when the jaws move into the head they will be compressed upon andtightly grasp any object placed between them. A collar Z on rod j formsa bearing-surface for one end of a coiled spring m, which bears at theother end against an annular shoulder in sleeve f. This spring tends todraw jaws into the head h. A screwpin a, passing through a slot 0 in rodj, connects the rod and sleeve f together, so that the latter rotatesthe former; but this pin does not interfere with the movement of the rodlengthwise of the sleeve.

To the rear of carriage c is attached a bracket 1), and behind it isanother bracket or standard q, fixed to the work bench or table on whichcarriage 0 travels. In the upper end of bracket 19 is pivoted a lever r,against which bears the end of a rod 5, passingloosely through a sleeve8, attached to bracket 10 and bearing at its forward end against the rodj. To the other side of lever r and in the same line with rods j and sis attached another rod t, whichfpassesfreely through a sleeve 1, fixedin bracket q. Rod 25 is screw-threaded at its end and provided with anut a, which by contact with sleeve o limits the forward movement ofcarriage c. This nut 10 is adjusted initially to arrest the carriage atthe proper point determined by the thickness of the button; but theparts have, in addition, an automatic adj ustmcnt, as will behereinafter explained, to compensate for any variations in the thicknessof the button-blanks.

' maintained in contact with rod 8.

In the lower end of bracket (1 is a stopscrew or, which arrests thecarriage c at. the proper point in its reverse motion by the contacttherewith of the lower end of lever r. This stop-screw is alsoadjustable. In bracket 19 is pivoted an arm y, having on its under sidean incline or cam-face, which, when carriage 0 moves to the right, restsupon the knife-edged projection of lever r. A small friction-rollers,carried by a rod attached to bracket q, serves to let the camy downgradually as the carriage moves forward, and also to raise it out ofcontact with the projection .2 when the carriage returns.

The operation is as follows: The machine being in the position shown inthe drawings, the operator with his right hand inserts a blank in thejaws 7c and with his left hand turns lever din the direction to movecar-- riage 0 toward the grinding-wheel b. As lever 1' moves away fromstop :20, its pressure against rod 8 is relieved and spring on expands,drawing the jaws into head h, by which the jaws are compressed firmlyupon the blank. Cam 3 comes down upon the knife-edge e, and the motionof the carriage is finally arrested by the contact of nut it againstsleeve Thus the amount of material removed by the grinding-wheel, andconsequently the thickness of the button, is determined and is uniformin each case. When the button is finished, the operator reversesthelever d, moving the carriage back until lever r strikes the end of stop00, forces rods 8 andj forward against the pressure of spring m, andpushes jaws 7c farther out of head h. The jaws 70 then relax by theirown elasticity, and the finished button drops from them.

If in the mass of blanks there should be one of somewhat largerdiameterthan the others, it is evident that the jaws 70 would enter aless distance into head It, and consequently the carriage 0 would haveto travel a shorter distance before bringing the button into contactwith the wheel 17; but from the fact that jaws 7c protrude from head h agreater distance than usual the nut u will be by so much nearer to thesleeve 1:, and therefore the motion of the carriage will be arrested atthe proper point, provided leverr is To maintain this contact is thefunction of the cam y, for when the latter rests with all its weight onthe knife-edge z of lever r it maintains constant the distance betweenthis lever and the jaws 7a. In this way the arrangement describedprovides automatically the necessary compensation for variations in thesize of the button-blanks.

The apparatus, as shown in Fig. 3, is designed to turn articles of theshape of collarbuttons. The work on these buttons is performed in twooperations. The first is to reduce the blank, with the exception of thebase or disk at the bottom, to the diameter of the head. The second isto make the shank.

Both operations are performed on the same machine by simply changing thegrinding wheel. In this apparatus the carriage c (a part of which isshown) and the parts connected with it are the same as in the otherfigures. The frame a, corresponding to the frame CL of Fig. 1, insteadof being stationary, is mounted upon a sliding support A, movabletransversely on the bed or bench C by means of a lever 1. Carriage c isprovided with a long bar 2, carrying a guide 5, whose function willpresently be explained. This guide limits the transverse motion of theslide A and frame a by contact of the roller 6 against the guide. Framea has an arm 3, which carries adj ustably astop 4:, which is in the pathof the chuck-jaws 7c of the carriage c. This stop is used to determinethe limit of the forward motion of the buttoncarrying chuck. The roller6 is carried on the end of a slotted bar 8, held adjustably in place bythe screws 9 10. The operating-lever 1 is fulcrumed at 11, thefulcrum-pin passing through a slot 12 in slide A and fixed in thestationary bed 0 beneath. Said lever is provided with an arm 7, which isslotted longitudinally, and in the slot is a pin 13, attached to theslide A. When leverl is turned on its center, the slide A and all partscarried thereby will be moved back or forth transversely to the axis ofchuck-jaws 7r. Of course any other convenient means for moving the slideA may be adopted instead of those described.

The operation is as follows, the parts being in the position shownthatis to say, slide A and frame a at the extreme position away from thebutton-carrying chuck and carriage c at its extreme position to the leftor away from grinding-wheel b: For the first operation a wheel is usedhaving on its periphery the counter part of the form to be given to thebutton-blank, so as to simply reduce the shank for its full length tothe diameter of the head. The first step is to move up carriage 0 untilthe end of the blank touches stop 4, which has been properly set. Head hand jaws 7c are indicated in this position in dotted lines. This motionbrings the incline 15 of guide 5 opposite roller 6. The nextstep is toswing lever l to the left, advancing slide A, frame a, and thegrinding-wheel. In this motion the stop at passes away from in'front ofthe button-blank, and the edge of the grinding-wheel comes in contactwith the side of the revolving blank, cutting it away until sufficiently reduced, the cutting being stopped when roller 6 strikes guide5; Slide Ais then moved back for the next operation, the position ofcarriage c not being disturbed. The grinding-wheel is removed andreplaced by one such as b for cutting down the shank to a conical form.Slide A is again brought forward, the edge of wheel 1) cutting into theblank the proper depth to form the head, this depth being determined bythe striking of roller 6 against the guide 5. The roller strikes theincline 15 of said guide, which was brought opposite to it by the motionof the carriage c to the right. The operator now continues to movecarriage 0 still farther to the right, so that the edge of wheel 1) cutsfrom the head toward the base of the shank; but in this motion theincline 15 pushes back frame a, so that a conical shank is formed, theangle of the side of the shank being determined by the angle ofinclination of the inclined edge 15, as will be readily understood.

It is obvious that modifications may be made in the details ofconstruction and in the means for moving the carriages without departingfrom the principles of the invention.

I have described the two operations being performed on the same machine.In practice, however, it is not usual to change the grinding-wheels, butis more convenient to use one machine for the operation of turning downthe blanks to the diameter of the head and then to pass these blanks toanother operator, who, with a similar machine, gives the button itsfinal shape, as above described. In the first operation the inclinedguide is not used.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a machine for making pearl buttons andanalogous articles, the combination, with the grinding-wheel, of thecarriage movable toward and away from said wheel, the rotatory sleevesupported in bearings of said carriage, the rod passing through saidsleeve and having chuck-jaws projecting from the head thereof, a springtending to press said jaws into the head, so as to close the same, astop for limiting the forward motion of the carriage, mechanism, such asspecified, between said stop and the rod carrying said jaws, and means,as indicated, for releasing the jaws upon the return movement of thecarriage, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the movable carriage, the chuck-jaws carried by arotatable support thereon and movable longitudinally, a stop forarresting said carriage in its forward motion, and connections, asdescribed, between the said stop and the jaws for maintaining constantthe distance between them, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the movable carriage, the sleeve rotatinginbearings thereof, the rod movable longitudinally in said sleeve andcarrying elastic chuck-jaws, the spring for moving said rod in thedirection to close said jaws, the lever pivoted to said carriage andconnected with a stop which arrests the forward motion of the carriage,and a second stop for arresting the return thereof by contact with saidlever, the latter being adapted to move the chuck in opposition to itsspring when actuated Joy the last-named stop, substantially asdescribed.

4. The combination of the carriage, the chuck-rod and itssupporting-sleeve, the stop for arresting the forward motion of saidcarriage, the lever serving as a connection between the stop andchuck-rod, a cam for press ing the lever toward the chuck-rod, so as tomaintain. their relative positions, and means, as indicated, forthrowing said cam into and out of action, substantially as described.

5. The combinatiomwitha grinding-wheel, of a carriage movable toward andaway from the same, a button-holding chuck having elastic jawsprojecting from the head of a sleeve, a spring for drawing the jaws intothe sleeve and so compressing them upon the blank, and a stop forforcing the jaws out of the sleeve when the carriage returns, so thatthe button is released automatically, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the carriage supporting the chuck and withmeans, as indi-' 'cated, for advancing said carriage and for opening andclosing the chuck-jaws, of a second carriage supporting thegrinding-wheel and movable transversely with respect to the axis of thechuck, substantially as described.

7. The combination of the carriage supporting the chuck and movable inthe direction of the axis of the chuck-spindle, the carriage supportingthe grinding-wheel and movable transversely to the former, so as to actwith its edge against the side of the button-blank, and an inclinedguide carried by the firstnamed carriage for pushing back the secondcarriage as the base of the blank approaches the cuttingedge,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

- J ULES OLERET. \Vitnesses:

WM. FARRIEY, RoBT. M. HOOPER.

